Dear Editor,
I have read with interest the article entitled Debating the right to be wrong, written by Swati Maheshwari in your December 2011/January 2012 issue.
It speaks ill of our judiciary that such a high amount has been awarded just because the plaintiff was a former judge. The media has also seemed to have awoken a bit late only because it is in the direct line of fire and, of course, the enormity of the damages awarded. It is shocking that no effective stay was granted by the high court and the Supreme Court.
As a practising lawyer in Chennai, I am also of the view that defamation law needs to be urgently reformed. Criminal defamation is mainly used by the powerful or those with access to power to intimidate the media and other rivals. A study of the various cases filed under this section would clearly demonstrate this. In Tamil Nadu where I practise, there has been a tendency for the ruling government to file criminal defamation against the media and then withdraw it when they lose power.
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